İstanbul-İzmir Motorway
The Istanbul-Izmir Motorway, constructed using the Build-Operate-Transfer financing model, has a total length of 426 kilometers, including 384 kilometers of motorway and 42 kilometers of connecting roads.
The entire motorway was opened to traffic on August 4, 2019, after its completed sections were gradually put into service.
The most significant section of the motorway is formed by the Osmangazi Bridge, which was built between Dilovası and Hersek Cape, connecting the two sides of the Izmit Gulf. While it used to take one and a half hours to cross this section using the existing road or 45 to 60 minutes with a ferry, the Osmangazi Bridge allows you to cross the gulf in just 6 minutes.
The motorway has shortened the route by 100 kilometers, reducing the travel time from Istanbul to Izmir from 8.5 hours to 3.5 hours. This improvement has not only made the journey quicker but has also alleviated the congestion in urban areas, particularly by bypassing residential areas and reducing the heavy traffic on the existing state road that passes through cities.
Thanks to the project, Balıkesir and Manisa cities have become new areas for industrial investments, surpassing the capacity of the regions around Istanbul and Bursa.
The travel time from Istanbul to Bursa has been reduced from 3 hours to 1 hour.
The route links the current industrial production of the provinces along the way with the surrounding provinces and allows the smooth transportation of raw materials for developing industrial investments to production and consumption centers via the comfortable motorway. It provides access to ports in the Marmara Region, including Izmir Port and Candarli Port.
The project has extended the tourism season for Izmir and Aydin provinces by enhancing the appeal of tourist destinations like Cesme, Foca, Dikili, Kusadasi, Selcuk, Didim, Bodrum, and Bergama.
The Edirne-Istanbul-Ankara Motorway and the Izmir-Aydin, Izmir-Cesme Motorway converge to connect the backbone of the Turkish economy, the Marmara and Aegean Regions, with a controlled-access motorway network.
